Wednesday, September 8, 2010

THE INAUGURAL POST!

Hello everyone. This is Elizabeth! This is my first blog and I'm really confused about what to write about....so i guess I'll just ramble. School starting yesterday was basically the worst thing that's ever happened. i'm already behind on sleep and anxious for our first break!

I suppose the only thing semi interesting that I can think to write about is my summer. In the beginning of July I went with my church on a mission trip to Jesse. A small coal mining town in Southern West Virginia, with a population of less than 500. West Virginia is one of the most impoverished areas in the United States. The people live up in the mountains, isolated from the rest of the country. We had gone last summer as well and it was really fun to go back and reunite with all of our friends there. We split up into five different work groups and on monday set out to change some lives. My group and I found ourselves weeding, scraping and painting a shed, building stairs, repairing plumbing and laying tile. We worked on this for a while and felt good about helping someone less fortunate. However, near the end of the week, it became very clear that we were not just helping the West Virginians, but they were helping us as well. During that 10 days, I felt myself opening up to people that I barely knew and building stronger relationships than I ever imagined. Relationships weren't just built between West Virginians and Minnesotans, but between the kids in my youth group. I learned about my peers' lives and struggles. Things that I never even imagined were going on with them. It really taught me not to judge others without knowing their whole story. You never know what they're dealing with.

If you've never had the chance to go on a mission trip, DO IT! You get the amazing feeling of helping others and may just learn a lesson or two and find out about yourself along the way!

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